For the Price of a Record FPC Corvette Z06, Should We Get Something Else, or Not?

Aside from the fact that deliveries are yet to commence, and people are already crashing the record-breaking flat-plane crank hoot, there could also be the issue of pricing. To many, the Chevy Corvette has always been an imperfect sports car that can serve as a blank canvas for making it your own – all because it was quite affordable to begin with.

Even the 2020 C8 Chevy Corvette Stingray was much cheaper than today’s starting MSRP of $64,500. Not to mention that now GM wants no less than $105,300 for a 2023 C8 Z06! Sure, with all the new-found Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren-fighting capabilities, a big paycheck might be warranted. But let us not forget that we also must factor in dealer greed, the state of market disarray, supply chain constraints, and whatnot.

And then, I did not even start adding the optional goodies. But let me tell you a little something about my C8 Z06 dream build – mainly its assets and final pricing. So, we start with the $105k+ price, 670 horsepower, a 60 mph (97 kph) sprint time of 2.6-seconds, and 1.22 of available lateral g-force. Then I took a coupe and dressed the C8 Z06 in 3LZ trim with the $995 Red Mist Metallic Tintcoat.

The staggered 20 and 21-inch exposed carbon fiber wheels were another $11,995, and the ‘custom’ Jet Black/Adrenaline Red seats/ Napa leather surfaces plus the carbon fiber steering wheel ($695), looked too good not to select, along with the $8,995 Z07 Performance Package plus $3,995 exposed carbon fiber ground effects. A few other accessory options later, and the net price reached $161,320, with the MSRP still excluding tax, title, license, and dealer fees.

That is already more than enough into Porsche territory that I could even fancy comparing this Z06 build with the all-time favorite rear-everything German sports car from my POV, the 911 Targa. You see, a base 911 Carrera goes from $106,100, and my dream 911 Targa 4 GTS is exactly $162,700, which is a spare change above the C8 I just configured. Not to mention you could add a little more and get the $169,700 GT3. So, back to the Corvette Z06, there are a few additional issues beyond the price.

For starters, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get an allocation. So, one could go in the used sports car direction, where there is an entire world of opportunity. But for the sake of argument, let us just refer to the big exotic rivals. For example, one could settle for a McLaren 650S or even the model that Team Corvette benchmarked the Z06 against, which is the Ferrari 458 Italia. Plus, you could snatch a low-mile 991.2 (previous generation, with a facelift) Porsche 911 GT3 with the manual transmission and never look back.

One could even go in the direction of V10s, with either the thrilling Audi R8 or the intoxicating Dodge Viper, or go full James Bond on yourself and get the entire household in debt trying to support a sudden Aston Martin (DBS) affliction. Actually, I do not recommend that unless you are vying for divorce and you have way too much money that you might want to see going down the British sports car drain.

Now, let us get back to America. There is always the option of the hidden Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE gem or the posh Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing high-performance sedan if you do not want to leave camp GM. Well, these options should be enough to get anyone thinking if the rather expensive C8 Z06 is the right mid-engine sports car for them or not!